What’s poppin’ Actifitters. If you missed my brief ramblings yesterday, I got news after clocking out of work that a friend back home had passed. I’m feeling a little better today; well, let’s be honest, I’m not- but I’m trying to keep my head up and carry on like Vinny would’ve wanted. So, I’m doing my best to just be myself.
It has been a rough 24 hours, but I’m pushing through. Before the news, it was a pretty normal day. Downright beautiful out, too. We have officially started inventory, which means a little bit of extremely organized chaos at work. Tuesday’s the one day of the week where a coworker from our other location comes in; so she was able to hold down the fort while we kept our heads down and our AirPods in. God, I’ll never get the sound of that scanner beep out of my head.
We wrapped up the day an hour early and I set off to hang out in the lodge. I didn’t really plan on this, nor did I need to, as I sometimes sit in there to charge my power banks and yada yada yada. Instead, I just kind of sat there and read for a couple hours, taking a couple walks here and there. I would’ve stayed for longer, but I had to go find some coolant somehow somewhere in this tiny town where every business other than the bar is closed by 8pm. I had a double in the morning, so taking the bus was not an option as I would have to speed my way down from one location to the other. I’ve had some weird stuff going on with my engine temp and my heat so I think I’ve got some air in the coolant flow somewhere. We shall see
Right before heading down to Chevron is when I got the news. It was a rough hike down, to be sure, but to be honest it didn’t really fully hit me until this morning. I didn’t know Vinny super well but man, what a kid. Such a loving, and loved, soul with a long and bright future ahead of him. Poor kid was still in high school; and simultaneously vocational school. Skate in peace, Vin.
I don’t even really remember the hike down, other than thinking about the little homie. It’s kind of a blur. I do remember getting to Chevron in an anti-social mood, and silently searching around the 15x30 little store for twenty minutes instead of just asking the clerk if they somehow didn’t have coolant. Him and I are very friendly acquaintances, as well; i just didn’t want to talk to anyone at that time and I think he could sense it. When I finally gave up and assumed maybe they had sold out, I walked to the register to buy a seltzer and finally got a couple words out, ”do you guys not have coolant?”. It was behind the propped open double doors the entire time- just out of eyesight because they were sweeping.
I did take a peek around the radiator and felt the hoses a little bit before closing the van doors and snuggling up to drown my sorrows in whatever random dumb show of the night I end up choosing upon. I didn’t really have the emotional capacity to do anything and just decided I’d deal with the air bubble in the morning and called it a night. I’ve experienced a lot of loss and unfortunately it never really gets easier. Much love to all of you, and to Vinny 🖤
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